Festival
by ScrabbleJak
Summary: Federico loved festivals. Too bad Vieri didn't feel the same way.
1. Chapter 1

Thanks to my wonderful beta, sweetedge, for help and suggestions.

xXx

"You're not going to wear the mask?"

Vieri glanced to Federico when he heard the question, then his attention dropped to the mask in Federico's hands. He rolled his eyes and went back to observing the groups of colorfully dressed people from his spot around the corner of a building at the mouth of an alleyway. The mild weather and the sun nearing the horizon made the festival tolerable, but somebody was making it difficult for Vieri to enjoy.

"No," he said simply. He didn't care for dressing up during the celebration. It attracted too much attention—something he'd rather not have when Federico insisted on following him out in the open, which was why he watched the festivities from the safety of the shadows. Like he needed everyone to know he could tolerate the other's presence.

He would normally be out there, participating in certain events, but he was stuck with this annoying child latched onto his side—one who apparently thought his attention was worth more than anything else at the moment. He whacked away the hand nudging his ribs.

"What?" he hissed, and Federico smiled widely.

"Come on. Get into the spirit. They're fun." And with that, he pulled his own mask down over his face, and looking at it, Vieri couldn't believe Federico got these things. Even though they were plain, it was still ridiculous. He didn't like the idea of hiding behind one, but of course, Federico was enjoying it. "Try yours on. Let me see what you look like."

The one Federico had on only covered the top half of his face, but Vieri realized it wasn't his pleading smile he was looking at. It was something he'd never voice out loud...but Federico had nice eyes. They were always full of unguarded emotion—bright when he was eager and excited, full of fire when he was roused or upset. When Vieri lost his temper and said something undeservingly harsh to him, his eyes would soften, losing some of his spark. When Federico woke first thing in the morning, his eyes were slow and vulnerable, glancing around until they landed on Vieri; they would light up then. And when Federico guided the both of them to the bed and pressed him down onto the blankets, his eyes would darken and cloud over, never straying from Vieri's own.

Federico's eyes were attractive, and the mask only made it stand out more. Vieri couldn't believe how much he had noticed about them and how much attention he was paying to them, and when Federico started to smirk smugly, he realized that he was simply staring. He hastily spoke.

"Why are you being so persistent about this?"

"I think it would look nice on you." Federico attempted to place it over Vieri's face, but he jerked back.

"I'm not putting that stupid thing on!" he snapped. "I'm here for the races, the fights, and that's it. I'm not spending it with you."

He watched as Federico's eyes dropped sadly to the mask in his hands, watched as his shoulders slumped, and he heard his disappointment when he sighed out softly.

Vieri snatched the damn thing from him and scowled. "You are such a child." Even though Federico gave him a small smile, he didn't acknowledge it, and instead, glared at the mask and clutched it hard with his fingers. This was so stupid.

Federico's hands came up to hold his, and Vieri had to resist the automatic reaction to hit him off. "If you wear it, no one will know it's you." Vieri frowned, but Federico curled his long fingers around his wrists, holding him gently. "Think about it." He smiled, his eyes shining with excitement. "No one would know who we were. We could spend all night together."

Vieri scoffed. "I thought you were supposed be giving me an incentive to actually want to wear this thing."

Federico laughed, somehow managing to not look silly even with the mask Vieri so dreaded. "You really want me to give you an incentive?" He leaned forward, his voice lowering. "I'm sure I can manage something."

Vieri felt a tiny smile pull at his traitorous mouth and he grabbed Federico's collar to pull him closer. "It better be worth it." He tried to sound at least somewhat threatening, but he found himself smiling even more when Federico beamed.

"When is it not?" His voice was smooth, teasing, and while Vieri knew he should push him away since they were more or less out in the open, he really didn't want to.

A hand came up to rest over his chest, sliding up to his shoulder to press him back against the wall, and he felt his heart race in excitement, wishing immediately that he and Federico could be back in one of their rooms. But he kept his expression disciplined.

"Enough."

Federico wasn't fooled by his stoic demeanor. His wide grin along with his hand sliding up Vieri's neck to thread through his hair showed it, but he backed off, his hands returning to himself. Vieri was seriously thinking about skipping out on the festival and simply dragging Federico back to his room right then. At least he wouldn't be pestered into wearing the stupid mask.

Federico leaned against the wall next to him. "Put it on. Please?" he whispered, giving him an affectionate look, his eyes softening, and Vieri felt his face heat up.

"Whatever," he said irritably. He slipped the mask on quickly and ducked out of the alley, ignoring Federico's protests.

"Wait," Federico scrambled after him. "I didn't get to see how you look."

"Perfect as always," Vieri said dismissively as he purposely stayed ahead, passing numerous decorated stalls. "Why do you care? You know what I look like."

Federico seized his arm, pulling him to a halt to speak heatedly in his ear. "I think I care because I might possibly love looking at you."

Vieri wrenched his arm back. "Are you stupid?" he hissed quietly, glancing around in alarm even though the crowds of people paid them no mind, too involved in their own enjoyment to notice them. Federico gave him an amused look, and Vieri had to remind himself that yes, Federico was stupid. "It's not like it's not horribly obvious who we are."

Federico nodded. "Should have gone with costumes." Vieri sneered, eyeing with distaste some of the more fanciful garbs people were dressed up in.

"You couldn't pay me to get into one of those monstrosities."

"Not even with my form of payment?"

"You wouldn't have the energy needed to change my mind."

"Is that a challenge?" Federico made to sidle closer, but Vieri pinned him with a hard stare.

"You wouldn't," he said pointedly, "have the energy."

Federico laughed. "You do take up a lot of my energy." He took a step back, placing his hands on his hips. "So, may I see how you look?"

Vieri crossed his arms, his eyes narrowing. "Hurry up," he said, crossly. He should just leave this idiot behind. Always with his demands! Vieri made a noise of impatience as Federico quietly stared at him. "Well?"

Federico shrugged, smiling. "Like you said, perfect." Vieri paused. He stared straight into Federico's eyes, quiet for a moment before giving him a quick once over.

"I suppose you're decent enough."

"I melt at your heartfelt words, you know that?"

Vieri instantly glared. "Shut up."


	2. Chapter 2

Vieri turned and stalked off, not bothering to see if Federico followed. He had better things to do than listen to him make smartass comments.

As he walked, his mood calmed. Federico started behaving, not only keeping his distance, but his hands to himself and his mouth shut, which, Vieri thought, was about damn time. Even though Federico wasn't actively trying to bother him, Vieri couldn't help but notice his happy humming. He stopped to glance sharply at him, and Federico halted in his steps as well, smiling.

Federico seemed thoroughly content and Vieri continued to walk, putting more effort into ignoring him.

Soon enough, the path opened up to a large, open area. Music filled the air and there were many people dancing. Men and women held their partner's hands and stepped gracefully along with the musician's tunes. This, Vieri didn't care for, and he made to push his way through. He was just passing a woman, the hem of her dress twirling about her ankles as she spun, when there was a tug at his sleeve.

Federico was eyeing the dancers with a smile before he looked at Vieri eagerly, his mouth opening, but Vieri cut him off swiftly.

"Don't even bother asking," he said, and Federico shrugged, grinning good-naturedly.

"Nothing to lose if I try."

"How about my respect in you?" Vieri muttered, glancing around the crowded area. Federico couldn't honestly be serious about wanting to dance. Not only did it look foolish, there was no point to it at all. He was about to start walking off, when he heard Federico speak in an incredulous voice.

"You have respect for me?"

"I know, hard to believe," Vieri said flatly as he looked away, paying him no mind. "But it's miniscule and the amount is so tiny that it rivals your brain size, so don't let it go to your head."

He yelled out in surprise when Federico suddenly ruffled his hair.

"Aw, I knew you loved me," he said cheerfully.

Vieri whacked his hand away viciously and shoved him back. "Watch it," he growled.

Federico bounded right back. "You act like it's my fault I can't keep my hands off of you," he said teasingly as he reached for him. Vieri nearly tripped in his haste to back up.

"What the hell's gotten into you?" he snarled.

"You weren't complaining earlier," Federico said rather smugly. "I distinctly remember you telling me to make this worth your time." He pressed a finger to his own mouth. "With a smile I might add."

Vieri glared at him. "We weren't out in the open earlier."

"We can still play around." Federico tapped his mask. "No one can tell who we are. Plus, it's getting dark." Vieri turned his narrowed eyes at the setting sun, gesturing at it.

"So what? That's not good enough." How slowly did he have to say it? The masks did not conceal who they were! Vieri was sure of it.

Federico sighed in exasperation. "No one can tell, Vieri," he insisted, and Vieri was about to snap at him for not listening, but he heard a cheerful voice break through the crowd.

"Federico!"

Vieri's attention followed the sound and he groaned when he saw Ezio slip through a group of people. Ezio walked up to the both of them, a large grin across his mouth and a mask adorning his face. He nodded to his brother in greeting, and when he looked to Vieri, he smirked.

"Vieri," he said curtly.

Vieri immediately shot a glare at Federico. "What the hell did you just tell me?" he said, cracking his knuckles out of reflex. "Something about no one being able tell who we are?"

"This doesn't count," Federico said desperately, and he gestured to Ezio. "He's my brother. How could he not tell?"

Vieri ignored him, instead rounding on Ezio. "What do you want?" he snapped.

Unaffected, Ezio spoke cheekily. "You not sleeping with my brother would be nice." Federico did not look happy about that.

"Oh, that wouldn't be nice."

Ezio gave him a bland look. "Wouldn't it?"

Federico shook his head. "I'll have you know that I happen to enjoy every moment together."

"You would think you'd know by now that sucking up doesn't work." Ezio motioned to a seething Vieri. "Not with him."

Casting a sidelong glance to Ezio, Federico spoke knowledgeably. "Sucking up works very well. Mostly sucking—"

"You two," Vieri pointed to them sharply, "shut your idiotic mouths."

Ezio nudged his brother. "You enjoy being talked to like that?"

Federico put a hand over his heart. "Every moment," he reiterated, a dramatic tone to his voice, and Ezio's mouth curved up at his theatrics.

"Liar."

Federico grinned outright at that and took his acting to an even more exaggerated level. "You doubt me and the depths of my love?" he cried out, causing Vieri to bristle instantly.

"What did I tell you about shutting your mouth!"

Ignoring the yell, Federico glanced around until he spotted a suitable weapon. He scooped up an umbrella lying across the seat of a chair and he wielded it like a sword. "I think I'm going to have to defend my honor against your accusation, good sir."

Ezio stared blankly until Federico looked at him expectantly. Shrugging, he matched the overdramatic tone of his brother's voice. "And I accept your challenge." He glanced around before snatching up a broom leaning against the wall. He pointed the wooden end towards Federico, shaking his head from the utter ridiculousness of what they were doing. "Though I'm certain this will not be a challenge for me at all."

"I'll make you regret your arrogance, child!"

Their weapons thunked together. What followed made Vieri want to stomp over to the two and hit them both over the head with their respective _weapons._ The two brothers attacked and dodged with flourish, creating enough of a ruckus that they caught the attention of a few of the dancers and those attempting to walk by. Vieri noticed that they mostly stopped to gawk for a few seconds before returning to what they were doing with a shrug. Apparently, the city was used to the Auditore boys' antics.

Vieri didn't know why he wasn't.

Ezio attempted a swing at Federico, but Federico dodged to the side and countered, whacking him in the ribs. Ezio yelled in surprise and backed away.

Federico took a step back and shook his head, resting the umbrella over his shoulder. "I really need to teach you how to handle a sword better." Ezio rubbed his side sullenly.

"I don't think I want to learn that from you."

"Okay, first off," Federico said with a grin, "your grasp needs to be firm."

"Federico…"

"You also want to take into consideration the length and thickness of the handle, that way you'll know how hard you need grip it."

"Are you even talking about using a sword anymore?"

"And then, you just need to keep your body relaxed as you time your thrusts with your strokes. It's easy. Anyone can—"

Federico had to whip the umbrella up with both hands to block against the broom handle sailing right towards his face. Ezio could not hold back his grin.

"You're too much."

Federico pushed him back with a smile. "Thank you." Then he quickly dodged when Ezio made to strike at him again.

Vieri growled at their actions, watching from enough distance so he wouldn't get caught in the middle of their idiocy. He should have just left, but Federico was like this every time Ezio was around, always paying more attention to his stupid brother instead of him.

Before he even realized what he was doing, he was marching over to Federico and grabbing his wrist in an iron hold. A startled noise left Federico's mouth when he was unexpectedly dragged off.

Getting his bearings, Federico laughed. Still clutching the umbrella, he waved to Ezio, and amused, Ezio waved back.


	3. Chapter 3

Vieri was muttering darkly to himself as he yanked Federico away from the festival. Oh, but Federico had _begged_ him to attend the celebration. _It was going to fun_, he had said. _It'll be just us two_, he had promised. And then what? He runs off at the first sight of his brother. Like always. Vieri despised being ignored, even if it was by Federico. _Especially_ if it was by Federico.

He stopped to throw a heated look at him, just because he could, and his teeth ground together when Federico didn't cower back.

"If you want me all to yourself, you just have to say so," Federico said, sounding extremely satisfied. "Though I'd be lying if I said I didn't like your actions."

Vieri glared daggers at the wrist in his grasp. He was glad, in that moment, that they were far enough away from the populated festival and in an empty street. It hadn't occurred to him that he was basically holding the bastard's hand, and he all but flung it away from him.

"Then I'll be sure to not do it from now on," he spat.

"Always with the opposite of what I want," Federico sighed out as he tilted his head curiously. "What if I said I hated it when you kiss me? Would you kiss me right now just to do what I didn't want?"

Vieri almost snapped out a 'yes' simply because he wanted to go against him, but that would only give Federico an incentive to try to kiss him. "Too bad for you I know better."

Federico brought up the umbrella he still had, pressing the end of it against Vieri's shoulder. "You love to irritate me just as much as I love to irritate you. I know that much."

Vieri shoved the thing away and moved in close enough to jab him with a finger, getting right into Federico's face. "_You_ love to irritate me." He pointed to himself with his thumb. "_I_ am hardly annoying."

Federico was silent for a moment, Vieri letting him take the time to actually think since he knew how long it took for him to process any type of thought. But it wasn't long before a sly grin slid into Federico's face. "You're right." Vieri was about to snap out that _damn straight he was right_, but he felt the tip of the umbrella prod his knee. He looked down at it even as Federico moved it higher up his leg, the smooth wood sliding along his inner thigh.

"Hey!" Vieri loudly protested, backing up quickly with a widely grinning Federico dropping the umbrella and following him just as fast. Vieri's back slammed into a wall. Arms boxed him in, and he yelled, "We're outside! What is wrong with you!" Federico swiftly covered his mouth with his hand, and Vieri had to hold back the instant reaction to bite him.

Federico's voice lowered. "We'll be fine if you're quiet."

Vieri didn't know why he held back earlier. It was like he was getting soft or something. He didn't appreciate being smothered at all, and since he couldn't voice it, he decided to show it—by sinking his teeth into the hand muzzling him. Federico apparently hadn't expected that and he jerked back with a sharp cry. Vieri simply leaned back against the wall with a blank look, his arms crossing as he watched Federico study his hand.

"Didn't you say something about being quiet?" Vieri asked sarcastically.

Federico's eyes rose to him in astonishment. "You bit me."

"I can never get over how observant you are." The frown on Federico's face never failed to bring a superior smile to Vieri's mouth. He needed to do stuff like this more often, because damn it, it felt good. "Now, get out of my way."

It seemed it was Federico's turn to smile, though Vieri saw it as conceited. "Well. Somebody's full of orders tonight. Why don't you ask me nicely to move?"

Well. Somebody wants the spine they all of sudden grew to be ripped out.

Vieri leaned in, getting right in Federico's face, his voice lowering. "No."

Federico's eyes narrowed and he didn't back down. "You bit me," he reiterated slowly, as if that explained his confrontational behavior.

Mimicking the slow tone, Vieri sneered. "So what?" It would normally be amusing the way Federico tried to act intimidating, because he always failed miserably, but right now, Vieri didn't care to play along.

Federico had ruined the night by running off, and Vieri was in no mood to forgive him. He only wanted to make him squirm now, and knowing how much it affected Federico, Vieri grabbed the front of his shirt to hold him still and leaned in to whisper harshly against his ear.

"Like I said," Vieri couldn't hold back his sharp smile when Federico's breath hitched and his body tensed. Amusement seeped into his voice. "You're a bother." He let him go and brushed past him without another word, looking at Federico just long enough to take in the surprised look on his face.

He intended on leaving and going home, to wait and see if Federico would eventually show up, but Vieri didn't get far. Fingers shot around his upper arm, yanking him back, and he found himself with his back against the wall, a mouth over his own as Federico kissed him hard. Vieri's mouth opened with a gasp when Federico pressed his entire body against him,

His hands clutched at Federico's arms, his head tilting back just slightly as fingers tangled in his hair. No matter how many times he was kissed in this manner, Vieri still couldn't believe how breathless he'd become, and damn it, it always left him wanting more.

Federico pulled back, completely smug. "And like _I_ said," he whispered, staring straight into Vieri's eyes, "you're absolutely right." He stayed close, breathing out softly. His fingers played at Vieri's collar, tugging it down. He kissed the throat bared to him, reveling in the stifled noise he pulled from it, and he murmured against the heated skin, "I do love bothering you."

When Federico's mouth moved up to press against his ear, Vieri stopped breathing. Low, warm words filled his senses.

"I love teasing you."

Vieri gripped Federico's upper arms hard, his fingertips digging into sleeves as he leaned away, scowling, not liking how Federico turned this around on him.

"Bastard, you—" His mask was pushed upwards, Federico sliding both of their own to rest upon their hair as he pressed forward to kiss him fully.

Vieri dug his fingers in, leaning forward to deepen their kiss and biting down when he could get a hold of Federico's lips, forcing his tongue past them when Federico gasped. He growled when the kiss was abruptly broken, Federico breathing deeply and looking at him with darkened eyes—a look that always promised a hard, fast orgasm—and Vieri paused at the intensity.

When Federico slowly pulled back enough to break all contact, slipping out of Vieri's grasp easily, he grinned widely.

"Most of all," he said as he placed his hand flat over the wall next to Vieri's head, leaning in just out of reach of a frowning mouth, and Vieri had to fight to not close the distance. "I love getting you _thoroughly_—" Vieri did not expect to be kissed right then, and a pleasured moan fell from his throat since he was caught off guard. It was over just as quick, Federico finishing his sentence with a whisper. "Hot and flustered."

Vieri struggled for words, but a warm hand pressed over the front of his pants, and his mind blanked out. He had to bite down against a strangled noise, his body going rigid against the wall as he forcibly steeled himself from squirming in Federico's grasp.

It took a moment for Vieri to remember that he was supposed to be upset at Federico and that this was not exactly fitting punishment for the damn, manipulative bastard. All he could think about was how Federico was going to fucking get it for screwing with him, and that was enough to block out anything else.

Federico seemed confused when he couldn't get Vieri to react anymore. He glanced down at where his hand was resting comfortably, then he looked back up to Vieri's narrowed eyes.

"Hm. You seem to have broken."

Vieri made to shove him back, but Federico darted out of the way, backpedaling until he nearly lost his footing from stepping on the umbrella he discarded earlier. Vieri stalked after him and swiped it up from the ground, looking very much like he wanted to break the thing over a certain person's head.

"That," Federico said in amusement, "is an umbrella. It's not going to hurt me."

Vieri flung the thing down and slammed his fist and palm together hard, snarling viciously. Federico shrank back with wide eyes.

"Okay. That actually might hurt me."

Federico ran fast.


End file.
